Montana Garden Volunteers Help Native Plants Thrive

Every Sunday morning in Missoula, volunteers trade their phones and worries for shovels and soil at the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden. For two hours, they help native species thrive while reconnecting with nature and each other.

Elena Ulev manages the garden for the Montana Natural History Center. She loves teaching people about plants that have called western Montana home for thousands of years.

"All of these species have evolved and adapted to this environment," Ulev explained. "They're used to very little rain in the summertime and they just do great."

The garden tackles a real problem: habitat loss. As development spreads across Montana, native plants lose ground to lawns and ornamental species that need constant watering and offer little benefit to local wildlife.

Native plants work differently. They need almost no watering once established and provide crucial food and shelter for Montana's pollinators and birds.

Ulev wants people to know native doesn't mean boring. The garden displays everything from two-inch wildflowers to 30-foot shrubs, with blooms appearing from April through August.

"I just think it's aesthetically pleasing to have just a wide variety of native plants," she said. Homeowners can create beautiful yards while supporting local ecosystems.

Sunny's Take

For Randall Martin, who has volunteered for over a year, the plants are only half the story. "Coming together as people, forgetting about all your greater ideals and beliefs and just coming out and doing a little bit of hard work," Martin said. "Forgetting about the rest of the world for a couple of hours every week."

The garden creates space for people to work side by side without judgment or division. In an era when communities often feel fractured, these Sunday mornings offer something simple and healing.

The Montana Natural History Center runs volunteer sessions most Sundays from 9 to 11 a.m. through August. No experience is required, just a willingness to dig in and help Montana's native plants reclaim their space.

##